For comic book aficionados, nothing beats the visceral appeal of holding a real comic book in your hand, paging through the vibrant art and smelling the ink on the pages.

On Saturday, comic fans of any age can feed their love for the genre during Free Comic Book Day, an annual extravaganza in which more than 2,000 retailers in 50 countries will give away special editions of favorite comics - from Disney heroines to Marvel and DC superheroes to the offbeat charms of manga.

"Over 3 1/2 million comics were available for giveaways last year," says Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord. "And more than a million people showed up to stores, so it's really the world's largest comic book-related event."

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Credit Field with first dreaming up the idea in a column he wrote for Comics & Games Retailer magazine, when he proposed something similar to the "free scoop" days that ice cream retailers offer.

"I often say that the only thing cooler than ice cream is comic books," he remarks, laughing.

Field goes on to note that some retailers use the 11-year-old event, which is coordinated by Diamond Comic Distributors, to promote literacy or highlight pop culture.

"There's something that's really powerful about comics," he says. "Over the last 10 to 15 years, we've seen comic culture seep into popular culture through TV, movies, video games. Now, they are a much smaller medium than any of those things, but they have a huge impact, because comics are the creative genesis and source for so many kinds of visual entertainment."

More than a dozen retailers in the Bay Area will participate in the event, which Field says can turn into something of a party atmosphere. At Flying Colors Comics, "Fringe" writer Zack Whedon will be on hand to unveil his work in Dark Horse's special "Star Wars/Serenity" flipbook; Georges Jeanty, the penciling artist behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight," will also be in Concord, as will the local independent comic team of writer Landry Walker and artist Eric Jones, creators of the "Little Gloomy" series.

"Anybody who's a reader could walk into a comic book store and find entertainment that they will connect with and want to return to again and again," Field says.

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